Nom de Plume

Nicki, our next door neighbor, has agreed to let me put raised vegetable beds in her backyard. It’s actually a pretty sweet deal for both of us; she has a wild yard that she doesn’t have time to keep up, and Steve doesn’t let me plant anything except in shady spots. Now, I just have to get around to doing it. But here’s motivation: Wayne’s gathering from his garden. From this morning alone.

This is the kind of book one loves to hate–and still devours in the fewest possible number of sittings. It’s about Dracula (like, oh, 40 bazillion other books out there), it’s somewhat stilted, it has strangely one-dimensional characters, the writing is somewhat awkward. And it was a thumping good read, although I must say that it really could have been about half the length; I started getting a little bored about 3/4 through. Even so, I was reading this one late Saturday night–and when I put out the lights and walked through the dark house to the bedroom, I was a little freaked out about what could be looming in the shadows…

This, the latest best of lit list, from the NY Times. We all know how much I hate these things (yet feel oddly compelled to ruminate over them excessively). My comments are in itals.

THE WINNER:
Beloved
Toni Morrison
Great book, totally predictable choice.

THE RUNNERS-UP:
Underworld
Don DeLillo
You have GOT to be kidding me.

Blood Meridian
Cormac McCarthy
Okay, okay, I like Cormac McCarthy, though haven’t read this one.

Rabbit Angstrom: The Four Novels
John Updike
You know, I haven’t actually read these. Maybe I should.

American Pastoral
Philip Roth
My personal feeling is that Roth’s first novella was fabulous and it’s all been downhill from there. I know he’s supposed to be wonderful and stuff, but really, I think all his books are ultimately about his penis.

THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ALSO RECEIVED MULTIPLE VOTES:
A Confederacy of Dunces
John Kennedy Toole
Sigh. I tried on this one. Steve loved it. I just … didn’t.

Housekeeping
Marilynne Robinson
I agree.

Winter’s Tale
Mark Helprin
I had a hard time getting into this one for some reason.

White Noise
Don DeLillo
Haven’t read, probably am not going to.
(1985)

The Counterlife
Philip Roth
Haven’t read this one.

Libra
Don DeLillo
Were all these repeats typos?
(1988)

Where I’m Calling From
Raymond Carver
I like Carver.
(1988)

The Things They Carried
Tim O’Brien
Haven’t read it, been on the casual to read list.

Mating
Norman Rush
Thank God! Someone on this list was thinking. More than any other novel, I LOVED this. Read it read it read it. Skip his latest book Mortals, though.
(1991)

Jesus’ Son
Denis Johnson
Never heard of it.
(1992)

Operation Shylock
Philip Roth
Again???

Independence Day
Richard Ford
Haven’t read it.

Sabbath’s Theater
Philip Roth
Oh, for eff’s sake.

Border Trilogy
Cormac McCarthy
I liked.

The Human Stain
Philip Roth
!!!

ReviewThe Known World
Edward P. Jones
I hated this.
(2003)

The Plot Against America
Philip Roth
AHHHHHH

So here’s the thing: With a few exceptions, I like the works of the judges much more than those they’ve nominated.

Kurt Andersen
Roger Angell
A. Manette Ansay
James Atlas
Russell Banks
John Banville
Julian Barnes
Andrea Barrett
Rick Bass
Ann Beattie
Madison Smartt Bell
Aimee Bender
Paul Berman
Sven Birkerts
Harold Bloom
Bill Buford
Ethan Canin
Philip Caputo
Michael Chabon
Susan Choi
Mark Costello
Michael Cunningham
Edwidge Danticat
Don DeLillo
Pete Dexter
Junot Diaz
Morris Dickstein
Andre Dubus III
Tony Earley
Richard Eder
Jennifer Egan
Dave Eggers
Lucy Ellmann
Nathan Englander
Louise Erdrich
Anne Fadiman
Henry Finder
Jonathan Safran Foer
Paula Fox
Nell Freudenberger
Carlos Fuentes
David Gates
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Julia Glass
Nadine Gordimer
Mary Gordon
Robert Gottlieb
Philip Gourevitch
Elizabeth Graver
Andrew Sean Greer
Allan Gurganus
Jim Harrison
Kathryn Harrison
Alice Hoffman
A. M. Homes
Maureen Howard
John Irving
Ha Jin
Thom Jones
Heidi Julavits
Ward Just
Mary Karr
William Kennedy
Frank Kermode
Stephen King
Maxine Hong Kingston
Walter Kirn
Benjamin Kunkel
David Leavitt
Chang-Rae Lee
Brad Leithauser
Frank Lentricchia
John Leonard
Jonathan Lethem
Alan Lightman
David Lodge
Ralph Lombreglia
Phillip Lopate
Janet Malcolm
Thomas Mallon
Ben Marcus
Peter Matthiessen
Ian McEwan
David Means
Daphne Merkin
Stephen Metcalf
Rick Moody
Lorrie Moore
Geoffrey O’Brien
Chris Offutt
Stewart O’Nan
David Orr
Cynthia Ozick
Ann Patchett
Tom Perrotta
Richard Gid Powers
William Pritchard
Francine Prose
Terrence Rafferty
Marilynne Robinson
Roxana Robinson
Norman Rush
Richard Russo
George Saunders
Liesl Schillinger
Joanna Scott
Jim Shepard
Karen Shepard
David Shields
Gary Shteyngart
Lee Siegel
Curtis Sittenfeld
Jane Smiley
Wole Soyinka
Scott Spencer
William Styron
Studs Terkel
Deborah Treisman
Anne Tyler
Mario Vargas Llosa
William T. Vollmann
Edmund White
Tom Wolfe
Tobias Wolff

I did it. I bought a clawfoot bathtub off Craig’s List. Expense bedamned–it’s what I really wanted. And it’s in really great shape–doesn’t need to be reporcelained or painted. I even like the blue.

Here’s Steve’s rendition of what it will look like. I particularly like the feet.

That’s what this is. I have stacks and stacks to write reviews, great visit with Pammy, lots of e-mails from my insane mother to share, and unfortunately, lots and lots of work to keep me from updating. One day I will return!